Straight bar knitting machines



DCC- 20, 1955 w. BENTLEY ETAL 3,292,395

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 27, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 20, 1966 w. BENTLEY ETAL 3,292,395

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 27, 1964 9 Sheets-S1199?, 2

Dec. 20, 1966 w. BENTLEY r-:TAL 3,292,395

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 27, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 3 De@ 20, 1966 w.v BENTLEY r-:TAL 3,292,395

STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 27, 1964 9 Slle'LS-Shee(l 4 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Il II n [Hl il [i ull W. BENTLEY ETAL STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES Dec. 20, 1966 Filed Feb. 27, 1964 DeC- 20, 1956 W. BENTLEY ETAL STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 27, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 DeC- 20, 1966 w. BENTLEY ETAL 3,292,395

STRAIGHT BAR KNIKTTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 27. 1954 9 SheeLs-Sheel 7 Dec- 20, 1955 rw.|31:r\irl EYv ETAL STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Feb. 27. 1964 Dec. 20, 1966 w. BENTLEY ETAL 3,292,395

STRAIGHT BAR KNITIING MACHINES Filed Feb. 27, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 United States Patent O 3,292,395 STRAIGHT BAR KNITTING MACHINES William Bentley, Barrington, Oadby, and Dennis A. Cozens, Leicester, England, assignors to William Cotton Limited Filed Feb. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 347,864 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Feb. 28, 1963,

9 Claims. (Cl. 66-154) This invention is for improvements in or relating to straight bar knitting machines of the Cottons patent or similar type and concerns patterning means for selective control of instrument-s in a row thereof in the machine and primarily individual presser elements for pressing the needle beards.

One row of instruments that it is required to be controlled by patterning means is a row of needle beard pressing sliders which are disclosed in our application Serial No. 288,428 filed .lune 17, 1963, now Patent 3,229,483, for which there is also disclosed a pattern drum controlling the sliders to cause selective pressing and misspressing of needles in tuck patterning. These sliders and the pattern drum are also disclosed in our application Serial No. 192,600 filed May 4, 1962, to cause selective holding down of the needles which in this instance are individually displaceable. The sliders and pattern drum are further disclosed in our French Patent No. 45,823 62 in a manner for another kind of patterning. The sliders and pattern drum are still further disclosed in oui application S.N. 347,860 filed February 2, 1964, for forming pockets, pouches or the like in a knitted article produced on the machine.

In all the patterning instances the pattern selections are limited by the diameter of the pattern drum particularly as regards the length of patterns, and the setting up of patterns, or changing of patterns, necessitates removably tting numerous pattern bits to the drum in required pattern arrangement.

Although other patterning means are known providing for a wide range of selections without having removable pattern bits, these means such for example as Jacquard mechanisms necessitate numerous mechanical transmissions and connections.

An object of the invention is to provide for a row of instruments in straight bar knitting machines being controlled by patterning means in such improved manner that it does not have the limitations of a pattern drum nor the mechanical transmissions and connections of I acquard mechanism.

The invention provides patterning means for a row of instruments in a straight bar knitting machine which includes a row of solenoids, means providing for the solenoids to permit and prevent displacement ofthe instruments according to whether the solenoids are operated or unoperated and the solenoids being electrically connectable to a suitable electrical programming means by which the solenoids can be selectively operated.

Conveniently the solenoids are of small narrow form and disposed closely face to face in row formation for each solenoid to be substantially in a common general plane with the instrument it is to control. Conveniently also there is an operating member operable to move the instruments through the intermediary either of spacers or of friction connection with mountings for the instruments, either the spacers or the mounting have abutments, and the solenoids are arranged to have releasable latching engagement with the abutments.

The solenoids are conveniently -springless, the cores being returnable after operation by positive means.

In application of the invention to the aforesaid sliders there is a rear slider operating member, droppers for ice vertical movement in a path between the slider operating member and the instruments, abutments on the droppers with which the solenoids are arranged to have releasable latching engagement, a dropper-operating member for resetting the droppers against spring means, and the droppers are movable with the operating member for returning operated droppers.

The invention is also applicable to control of a row of transfer points for lace patterning and/or fashioning by loop transference. Conveniently there is a single row of transfer points carried by mountings having abutments with which the solenoids have releasable latching engagement, a point-operating member having frictional engagement with the point mountings, and a solenoid-operating member for returning operated solenoids. In thi-s arrangement the programming means is arranged for selective operation of the solenoids in selectively controlling the transfer points for lace patterning, and the programming means is further arranged for selective control of spaced groups of the solenoids suitable for collectively selecting spaced groups of the transfer points to operate in fashioning.

When the invention is applied to the aforesaid sliders, the lsliders may be for tuck patterning, or for holding down needles, or for other patterning, or for use in forming pockets, pouches or the like substantially as disclosed in the aforesaid patents and applications.

The above and other features of the invention set out in the appended claims are incorporated in the construction which will now be described, as a specific embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a cross sectional view of slider control patterning mechanism according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a similar view to FIGURE 1 at a later stage in operation of the mechanism;

FIGURE 3 is a similar view to FIGURE 2 at a later stage in operation of the mechanism;

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view of relevant part of a Cottons patent straight bar knitting machine;

FIGURE 5 is a front view of relevant parts of the machine;

FIGURE '5a is an enlarged view of a program controlling part of the machine of FIG. 5;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged detail View of part of a row of solenoid-s used in the patterning mechanism;

FIGURE 7 is a detail view of part of a punched program carrier for programming means of the machine;

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged view of a slider control mechanism of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged view of a narrowing head of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged view of a slider control mechanism and the narrowing head of FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged view of the fashioning control mechanism of FIGURE 5.

Referring to FIGURE 1 the parts such as at 1 With rear butts 1a and upper butts 1b are of sliders of which there is a row in association with the machines row of needles lsu-bstantially as in the straight bar knitting machine disclosed in said US. patent application Ser. No. 288,428, led June 17, 1963, to which reference is directed for full details of how sliders, selectively advanced by a pattern drum, close selected needle beards for these needles to knit, while the beards of the remaining needles remain unpressed because of their sliders being unadvanced so that these needles do not knit, primarily for tuck patterning.

Instead of employing the pattern drum according to said application there is provided a row of droppers such as at 2 each dropper being slidably mounted in a support 3 which has a forward locating stop 3a for the upper butts` 1b, and a rear part 3b having slots 3c for a leaf spring 4. Each dropper 2 has a top horizontal butt 2a, and a `lower reinforcing plate 2b which provides a front bottom butt 2c and a rear edge 2d engaging a common operating shaft 5.

On the shaft there are mounted leaf springs 4, a common lifting lbar 7 under the droppers and means for operating the shaft as will be described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 8-10.

For association with the top butts 2a there is a row of solenoids 8 with core parts 8a, and these solenoids are pre-selectably operated as and when required -by a programming device such as of punched card control kind.

In operation, the stage shown in FIGURE lis with a selection of droppers 2, which have l'been earlier held rai-sed by projecting parts 8a of a selection of the solenoids 8, in a raised inoperative position with their front bottom Ibutts 2c riding on top of the associated sliders 1, and with the remaining droppers 2 lowered by the leaf springs 4 to a low level into a coupling position whereat their bottom butts 2c engage the rear butts 1a of their associated sliders 1. The shaft 5 has been given an advance movement toward the needles by means described hereinafter, whereby the selected sliders 1 coupled by droppers 2 with operating shaft 5 and support 3 are advanced for their needle beards to be pressed for knitting. In this position of the droppers the top -butts 2a of the unoperated inoperative droppers are clear of the projecting solenoid parts 8a but substantially level with these solenoid parts 8a.

Next the shaft 5 is rotated, to raise the common lifting bar 7, -by suitable means described hereinafter which raises the lower droppers 2, FIGURE 2, to an intermediate level at which the bottom butts 2c are clear of the slider butts 1a, and the top butts 2a are all substantially opposite the solenoid parts 8a.

At this stage the shaft 5 retracts for displacing the sliders 1 and associated mechanism by means described hereinafter such that the advanced sliders 1 are retracted by operating part 3a of the support 3 and the top butts 2a of the droppers 2 which have been previously held raised -by the projecting parts 8a of the selected solenoids 8, now act on the parts 8a to return them to an inoperative position as shown in FIGURE 2 when the droppers 2 are retracted by support 3. The lowered droppers are raised by lifting bar 7.

At the next stage, FIGURE 3, the shaft 5 is further angularly displaced so that the lifting bar 7 further raises the droppers 2 to an upper level at which the top butts 2a are clear of the solenoid parts 8a.

Thus the part-s are re-set ready to repeat the cycle of operations with a fresh selection of solenoids operated to project their parts 8a under the top butts 2a and their associated droppers 2.

By the following angular displacement of shaft 5 for return lowering of the lifting bar 7 to the starting position of FIGURE 1, and the unoperated droppers 2 are lowered from the high level shown in FIGURE 3, to the slightly lower level in FIGURE 1, by their associated springs 4, the bottom butts 2c of the slightly lowered droppers 2 then resting on the rear butts 1a of the unadvanced sliders 1, and the top butts 2a of these droppers being Vpositioned substantially opposite the projected parts 8a of the solenoids 8 as required for the stage of FIG- URE 1. From the above description of the operations it becomes apparent that sliders 1 are controlled elements, and that droppers 2 are control elements which have a higher inoperative position, and a lower coupling position for connecting operating -Ineans 3, 5 with selected controlled elements 1.

One advantage of this arrangement over the provision of a pattern drum is that the solenoids can be program controlled from a punched card control means and that changes in pattern are readily provided for by different punched cards or the like.

The patterning mechanism will now be further described as incorporated in the machine shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 8 to 10.

Referring to FIGURES 4, 5 and l0 the machine has the usual needles 10 with beards 11, see FIGURE 4, and the needles are set in a needle bar 12 which is operated for knitting by usual means comprising arm 13 (FIGURES 4, 5) on rod 13a which carries a cam follower lever 13b with cam follower 14 engaging a raising and lowering cam 15 on the machines usual motor driven main cam shaft 9, and usual pressure lever 16, on rod 16a with cam follower 17 engaging a presser cam 18 on the shaft 9, the presser lever 16 being connected by arm 19 to arm `20 which depends from the needle bar 12. Usual sinkers 21, see FIGURES 4 and l0, are slidably mounted in the usual sinker bar 22 and are operable by usual slurcock 23, see FIGURE 4, from Coulier mechanism as well known in the art through the intermediary of jacks 24. The machine also has usual knocking over bits 25 operable by cam operated mechanism as also Well known in the art, and thread carriers are also provided under control of the Coulier mechanism for their traverse as yalso Well known in the art.

The sliders such as 1 in this instance have forward presser edges 26, see FIGURE 4, for pressing the needle beards 11 and they are slidably mounted in the sinker bar 22 between successive sinkers 21, see FIGURE 10.

The aforesaid common operating shaft 5 is mounted at its ends by rectangular blocks such as 27, see FIGURES 8 and l0, being slidable in slots such as 28 in end brackets such as 29 projecting from posts 29a, see FIGURES 5 and 10, and for advancing and retracting the shaft 5 towards and away from the needles it has freely connected to it one toggle arm 30, FIGURES 5 and 8, the other toggle arm 31 being pivotally connected to a bracket 32, FIG- URES 4 and 8, andthe two arms being pivotally connected together and to a link 33. The latter is connected to bell crank mechanism 34, FIGURES 4 and 5, which is connected by link 34a to a cam follower lever 35 having a cam follower 36 engaging ya cam 37 on the shaft 9.

The support 3 and the springs 4 are carried from the shaft 5 by brackets such as at 38, FIGURES 8 and l0, secured to ends of the blocks such as 27.

The solenoids such as 8 are clamped between an upper bar 39 and a lower bar 40, FIGURES 4, 6, 8 and 10, either or each of which may be tricked for location of the solenoids closely face to face, each solenoid being of the small narrow form shown in FIGURE 6. The upper and lower bars 39, 40 are carried by brackets such 4as at 41, FIGURES 4, 8 and 10, secured to a machine frame part 42, FIGURES 4 and 8. The cores such as 8a, FIGURES 6 and 8, of the solenoids are slidably guided in a guide bar 43, FIGURES 4 and 8, carried by the bracket 41.

The common lifting bar 7, FIGURES 4, 8 and l0, is secured by bushes such as at 44 to the shaft 5 and for operating the bar 7 there is also secured to thelshaft 5 an arm 45, also FIGURE 5, connected by a link 46 to a cam follower lever 47, FIGURES 4, 5 and 8, having a cam follower 48 engaging a cam 49 on the shaft 9 whereby the shaft 5 and consequently the bar 7 is rotatably displaced.

For accurate relationship between the patterning mechanism and the sliders, the bracket 32, FIGURES 4 and 8, has a slot 32a for a bolt 32b connected to the toggle arm 31, and an adjusting screw 32e` is adjustable to displace the toggle arms towards or away from the bracket 32.

For electrical connection of the solenoids to an electrical programming means, the solenoids have conducting wires represented at v50, FIGURES 4, 5, 8 and 10, for connection to the programming means hereinafter described with reference to FIGURES 5 and 7.

Similar patterning mechanism is applicable to control of transfer points such as at 51 in FIGURES 4, 5, 9 and 10.

These points are provided in row formation and are set in vertical mountings such as 52 which have butts such as 53, FIGURES 4 and 9, and are guided in bar guides 54, 55, also FIGURES 5 and 10, secured to brackets such as at 56 mounted on rods 57, 58 and 59 in a usual narrowing head of the machine carried by usual arms such as at 60, FIGURE 4. This narrowing head has usual dip and rise motions, as part of loop transfer motions, by usual links 61, see also FIGURE 5, connect'ed to cam follower lever.62 with cam followers 63 engaging cams 64 on the shaft 9.

The mountings 52 of the transfer points 51 extend through an operating device 65, particularly FIGURE 9, to which they are releasably -connected resiliently by leaf springs such as at 65a carried by the device 65, and the latter embodies a lifting bar 66 engageable under butts 67 on the mountings 52. The device 65 is carried by arms such as at 68, also FIGURE l0, which have fork ends 69 engaging rods such as at 70 carried by arms such as at 71 on a rocking rod 72 supported by brackets 73, and the rod 72 also has secured to it an arm 74, FIGURES 4 and 5, connected by a link 75 to a bell crank lever 76 which is connected by a link 77 to a cam follower lever 78 having a cam follower 79 engaging la cam 80 on the cam shaft 9.

Solenoids 81, FIGURES 9 and 10, similar to the solev noids 8 and mounted horizontally between bars 82 and 83 carried by arms such as at 84 on the rod 58, have their cores 85, FIGURE 9, normally projected towards the mountings 52 of the transfer points at the undersides of their butts 53 when the mountings are in their uppermost position. Selective operation of the solenoids is obtained from electrical programming means through conducting wires 50 in similar manner as for the solenoids 8 except that in the selection of the solenoids 81 they are retracted away from the transfer point mountings 52 clear of the butts 53 for the operated solenoids to allow lowering of their associated transfer points, and for the unoperated solenoids to prevent lowering of their associated transfer points.

Return of the operated solenoids is effected by a bar 86, FIGURES 9 and 10, striking the outer ends of the solenoids .and being operated through arms 87 on a rod 87a on which there is another arm 87b, FIGURES 4 and 5, connected by a link 88 to a lever 89 which is connected by a link 90 to a cam follower lever 91 having a cam follower 92 engaging a cam 93 on the shaft 9.

The sequence of operations, starting with all the mountings 52 in their uppermost position to which they have been raised by the operating device 65 with the springs such as 65a engaging in the notches 52a in the mountings 52, the solenoids Vare selectively operated for a selection of the cores 85 to be withdrawn clear of the butts 53 of their associated mountings 52. Then the operating device 65 is lowered by operation of the cam 80, the mountings 52 associated with the operated or retracted solenoids being carried down with the operating device 65 to dis-l pose their transfer points 51 in operative position in the narrowing head, and the remaining mountings 52 being maintained in their uppermost position by their associated unoperated solenoids remaining engaged under their associated butts 53, as allowed by the associated springs 65a riding out of their associated notches 52a. Thereafter the narrowing head is operated with dips and rises in usual manner by cams 64, and usual sideways displacement of the transfer points are made by means to be hereinafter described.

To remove the selection, the operating device 65 is raised by cam 80 to return the lowered mountings 52 to their original uppermost position at which the springs 65a associated with the remaining mountings re-engage with the associated notches 52a. This is followed by a slight further raising of the operating device 65 to raise all the mountings`52 and consequently to raise their butts 53 slightly above the level of the solenoid cores 8S.

and left hand halves indicated at 56, 56' in FIGURES 5 and 10 the bracket 56 being secured by screws 94 to the rod 57 and the bracket 56 being secured by screws 95 to the rod 59, and the two brackets 56, 56' being slidable on the rod 58.

The rod 59 has secured to it an arm 96, FIGURES 5 and 1l, extending through =a slideway 97 in -a screw nut 98 on an adjusting screw 99 and the rod 57 has secured to it an arm 100 having slidable engagement in a slideway 101 in a screw 102 on an adjusting screw 103.

The screws 99, 103 are supported by brackets 104, 105, 106.

For operating the screw 99 it has on it a ratchet wheel 107 engaged by a pawl 108 which is connected by a link 109 to an operating arm 110, and there is a reverse ratchet wheel 111 engaged by a pawl 112 connected by a link 113 to the operating arm 110.

Similarly the screw 103 is operated Iby a ratchet wheel 114 engaged by a pawl 115 connected by a link 116 to an operating arm 117 and there is a reverse ratchet wheel 118 engaged by a pawl 119 `connected by a link 120 to the operating arm 117.

The two operating arms 110, 117 'are secured on a pivot 121 carried by brackets 122, 123 and to which is fixed an arm 124 connected Iby a link 125 to a cam follower lever 126 having a cam follower 127 engaging a cam 128.

The cam 128 is a circular cam and when the cam shaft 9 is shogged in usual manner for the machine to have a loop transferring fashioning motion instead of a knitting motion, the cam follower 127 is engaged by a cam 129 which operates the screws 99, 103 to sideways displace the rods 57, 59 which -carry with them the brackets 56, 56 and their associated transfer points for the required sideways loop transference.

The direction in which the transfer points are sideways displaced is determined by blufling discs 130, 13011 associated with the pawls 108, 112 and bluiing discs 131, 131a associated with the pawls 119, 115 to permit either the forward racking pawls or the backward racking pawls to be operative as required.

The blufng discs 130, a, 131, 131a are conveniently under control of suitable programming means to -be hereinafter described.

The programming of the solenoids for the transfer points concerns two arrangements i.e. (l) in which spaced individual solenoids are selected in a wide range of selections for lace patterning by loop transference, and (2) by selection of two spaced groups of transfer points for fashioning by loop transference.

In the fashioning arrangement, widening or narrowing is effected by recurrent selections of spaced groups of points each spaced pair of groups being out of register, outwardly or inwardly to the extent of one or two points, from the groups last to be selected or next to be selected.

A representative programming means for the control of the solenoids for the sliders and of the solenoids for the transfer points, employs an endless programme carrier band 132, FIGURE 5, having a predetermined arrangement of punched holesv according to the programme required, for example, for tuck patterning for the sliders, and lace patterning and fashioning for the transfer points.

The band 132, particularly FIGURE 5a, is mounted suitable for its traverse on a drum 133 which is racked round by a pawl 134 engaging a ratchet wheel 135 associated with the drum 133, the pawl 134 being carried by `a lever 136 connected by a link 137 to a cam follower lever 138 having a cam follower 139 engaging a cam 7 140 on the cam shaft 9, there being also associated with the drum, if desired, a back racking pawl 141 connected to the lever 136 -and rendered operative and inoperative yby a releasable catch device 142.

For reading the holes in the band 132 there is a multiplicity of feeler arms such as- 143 having pegs such as 144 presented to the band, and having arms such as 145, A146, 147 for operating electric switches such as 148, 149, 150 connected to the solenoids by the conductors 50 indic-ated di-agrammatically, 50.

For each selection the feeler arms 143 are lowered to engage the band and then raised by .a tail such as 143a of the feelers such as 143 being engaged by a rod 151 connected to a lever 156 which is connected by a link 157 to lin-k and lever mechanism indicated generally at 158 which is operable by a solenoid 159 under control of the holes in the band 132 to raise rand lower the bar 151 for each selection.

The band 132 would have the holes set out, as represented in FIGURE 7, to include holes H for the slider solenoids, holes H2 for controlling the transfer point solenoids for lace patterning, and holes H3 for controlling the transfer point solenoids in fashioning.

For control of the bluing discs 130, 130a, FIGURE 1l, 131, 131a which govern the direction of sideways displacement of the transfer points, the four bluiiing discs are connected say by Bowden mechanisms 160, 161, 162, 163, FIGURE 5a, to levers 164, 165, 166, 167 which are releasably connectable by catches 168, 169, 170, 171 to levers 172, 173, 174, 175 on a rod 176 on which there is an arm 177 connected by a link 178 to a cam follower lever 179 having a cam follower 180 engaging a cam 181 on the shaft 9.

The catches 168 to 171 are controlled by levels 182,`

183, 184, 185, tail parts 186, 187, 188, 189 of which overlie four of the feelers 143.

The band 132 will incorporate suitable holes for these four feelers 143 so that the feelers will be selectively operated as and when required to cause the cam 181 to displace the bluling discs in required selective manner.

It will be understood that if it is required for pockets, pouches or the like to be for-med as hereinbefore referred to, the necessary selection of one or more groups of the sliders can be made from the programming means by having holes at appropriate locations in the programming lband for control of the appropriate solenoids.

It will also be understood that patterning iby the sliders can 'be the tuck patterning, or the patterning by holding down selected needles, or other patterning hereinbefore referred t-o.

In the ner -gauges of machines the solenoids may be provided in double row staggered formation.

What we claim is:

1. In a knitting machine, a series of like elements yadapted for individual repetitive movements, operating means for obtaining the repetitive movements of said like elements, and element selection means comprising a series of selectively operable electro mechanical devices having the same number as said like elements, and respectively substantially registering with the same, said series of electromechanical -devices controlling the series of like elements for different selections of the like elements to have the repetitive movements obtained from the operating means while the remaining like elements do not have the repetitive movements obtained from the operating means.

2. In a knitting machine, a series of like elements adapted for individual repetitive movements, first operating means for obtaining the repetitive movements of said like elements, and element selection means comprising control elements in a series corresponding to the series of like elements, second operating means `for displacement of the control elements between a coupling position for coupling the respective like element with said rst operating means, and an inoperative position in relation to said first operating means, and selectively operable electro mechanical devices in a series corresponding to and controlling the series of control elements to move the same selectively between said inoperative and coupling positions for different selections of the control elements to cause different selected coupled like elements lto have the repetitive movements obtained from the rst operating means while the remaining like elements do not have the repetitive movements obtained from the operating means.

3. A straight bar knittingl machine having, in combination, a row of controlled elements; operating means for moving said controlled elements; a row of electro mechanical devices having the same number as said controlled elements; a series of control elements respectively controlled 'by said electro mechanical devices to individually move between an inoperative position, and a coupling position for coupling selected ones of said controlled elements with said operating means so that only selected controlled elements are moved by said operating means; and a selection control unit for selectively operating the electro mechanical devices to thereby selectively control the operations of said controlled elements.

4. In a knitting machine, program controllable instrument selection means, comprising in combination, a series of like instruments, advance operating means for effecting horizontal advance movements of said instruments, return operating means for effecting return movements of said instruments, a series of `droppers for removable projection between said instruments -and said advance operating means, raising means for raising said droppers to inoperative height, and a series of program controllable solenoids adapted for selective operation to permit different selections of the droppers to drop to their lower operative position whereat the movement of the advance operating member is imparted to correspondingly different selections of the instruments while the remaining solenoids retain their associated droppers in raised inoperative position whereby their associated instruments are inoperative by the advance operating member.

5. A straight bar knitting machine having, in combination, a row of needles having beards7 a row of sliders movable for controlling the needle beards, said sliders having advancing butts, an operating member movable for effecting the movements of the sliders, a row of droppers movable between a raised inoperative position and a lowered operative position in which latter position the droppers project between the sliders advancing butts and the operating member to impart movement of the latter to the sliders, a row of electro mechanical devices` for controlling the movements of the droppers, and a selection control unit for selectively controlling the electro mechanical devices to thereby selectively control the sliders movements and consequently selectively control pressing and miss pressing of the needle beards.

`l. A straight bar knitting machine having, in combination, a narrowing head carrying a series of transfer points, a row of electro mechanical devices adapted `for control of the transfer points operations, and a selection control unit for selectively operating the electro mechanical devices to thereby selectively control the points operations.

7. In a knitting machine, program controllable selection means, comprising in combination, a series of like instruments, a narrowing head for eifecting downward advance movements and upward return movements thereof, a series of control elements-carrying the instruments and displaceable in the narrowing head between a raised position holding their instruments in inoperative position in the narrowing head and a lower position holding their instruments in operative position in the narrowing head, operating means for raising the instruments in the narrowing head to the raised inoperative position and adapted fOr return lowering of the instruments, a series of 9. solenoids adapted for normally preventing the return lowering of the instruments to their operative position in the narrowing head and program controlled to permit `different selections of the instruments to be lowered to the operative position in the narrowing head, and return operating means for re-setting the solenoids.

8. A straight bar knitting machine having, in combination, a series of transfer points, a series of sliders carrying the points and mova-ble for operating them, said sliders having butts, a narrowing head mounting said sliders and operable for moving the sliders to operate the points, a row of electro mechanical devices for co-operation with said butts to control the movements of the sliders, and a selection control unit for selectively controlling the electro mechanical devices to thereby se- 15 ical devices `adapted for control of the needles operations, a second row `of electro mechanical devices adapted for control of the transfer points Operation, .and a selection control unit for selectively operating the electro mechanical devices to thereby selectively control the needles and points operations.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,782,007 11/1930 Le Gorre 66-89 1,890,200 12/1932 Thierfelder 66-154 3,141,316 7/ 1964 McCarthy et al. 66-154 FOREIGN PATENTS 883,432 ll/ 1961 Great Britain.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

DONALD W. PARKER, Examiner P. C. FAW, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A KNITTING MACHINE, A SERIES OF LIKE ELEMENTS ADAPTED FOR INDIVIDUAL REPETITIVE MOVEMENTS, OPERATING MEANS FOR OBTAINING THE REPETITIVE MOVEMENTS OF SAID LIKE ELEMENTS, AND ELEMENT SELECTION MEANS COMPRISING A SERIES OF SELECTIVELY OPERABLE ELECTRO MECHANICAL DEVICES HAVING THE SAME NUMBER AS SAID LIKE ELEMENTS, AND RESPECTIVELY SUBSTANTIALLY REGISTERING WITH THE SAME, SAID SERIES OF ELECTROMECHANICAL DEVICES CONTROLLING THE SERIES OF LIKE ELEMENTS FOR DIFFERENT SELECTIONS OF THE LIKE ELEMENTS TO HAVE THE REPEPTITIVE MOVEMENTS OBTAINED FROM THE OPERATING MEANS WHILE THE REMAINING LIKE ELEMENTS DO NOT HAVE THE REPETITIVE MOVEMENTS OBTAINED FROM THE OPERATING MERANS. 